Governor’s top aide named president at South Alabama
Gov. Kay Ivey’s chief of staff, former U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, was named president of the University of South Alabama on Wednesday over two candidates with more degrees and experience in higher education. Bonner, 61, “is a proven innovator, a skilled administrator and a respected, admired and influential leader in our state,” board pro tem Jimmy Shumock said in a statement announcing Bonner’s selection. “With his leadership, we look forward to the continued elevation of the University of South Alabama’s reputation as a leading academic, research and health care institution,” Shumock said. Bonner, who represented the Mobile area while in Congress, is the younger brother of former University of Alabama President Judy Bonner. Trustees chose him over Damon Andrew, the education dean at Florida State University; and Michael Tidwell, the immediate past president of the University of Texas at Tyler. Bonner was the only candidate without an earned doctoral degree — he has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Alabama — and his resume doesn’t include experience in academic administration, although he served as vice chancellor for economic development of the three-campus University of Alabama System. Bonner, who will become the university’s fourth president, will be formally introduced at a trustee meeting on Dec. 2. By law, the governor appoints members of the university’s board. “Over the coming days and weeks, I look forward to working with the Board members to better understand their timetable and expectations for helping to move the University of South Alabama to the next level. There is obviously a lot of success and momentum on which to build. For today, however, I remain deeply humbled,” he said in a statement. South Alabama had an enrollment of 13,136 students in the spring, according to its website. The university announced then-president Tony Waldrop’s retirement in February. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Poarch Creek tribe to get $900,000 from federal HUD grant
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman will hold a virtual press call on Wednesday, November 10th, to announce the allocations of $73.9 million in the first round of Indian Community Block Grant-American Rescue Plan (ICDBG-ARP) funding to 68 tribal communities. In March, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided $750 million dollars in HUD resources to Indian Country to support the continued fight against COVID-19. It also includes $450 million for the Indian Housing Block Grant program, $280 million for the Indian Community Development Block Grant program, $5 million for the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant program, and $10 million for related technical assistance resources. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians has requested $900,000 to construct a 9,000 square foot emergency managementwarehouse. The building will include a drive-through for COVID vaccinations and office space for emergency service personnel and other medical services.
Katie Britt takes commanding lead over Mo Brooks in new survey
Katie Britt’s campaign recently released a new online survey that shows Britt leading the U.S. Senate Republican primary contest. The poll was conducted by TargetPoint on behalf of Britt’s campaign and ran from November 3-8. The online-based survey interviewed 300 likely GOP primary voters in Alabama. In an initial four-way ballot test, Britt leads the pack with 31%. Six-term Congressman Mo Brooks sits at 30%, followed by Mike Durant at 12% and Jessica Taylor at 7%. The poll also showed Britt with a field-best 59% favorability rating, with only 7% viewing her unfavorably. Her name identification is up to 78%. After voters heard information on both Britt and Brooks, a second ballot test showed Britt moved in the lead in the race, with 56% of the vote. Brooks fell to third at 7%, with Durant garnering 12% and Taylor 6%. TargetPoint Consulting wrote in a memo, “Awareness of Katie Britt is up to 78% of likely voters in the primary, which is outstanding for a candidate who has never before run for office and who has yet to spend money of her own on television advertising. She also already has the highest favorable rating of any candidate at 59%, with a lot of room to continue to grow.” “It is clear that the people of Alabama are ready for fresh blood in the Senate and are tired of ineffective career politicians like Joe Biden and my opponent who have made a living only serving themselves on the taxpayer dime,” Britt stated. “We are working hard each and every day, traveling to every corner of our great state to visit with Alabamians and listen to them. It is clear that our grassroots campaign and Alabama First message is resonating. People know that I’ll fight tirelessly every day to protect our Christian conservative values and preserve the American Dream for our children and our children’s children. We will continue to outwork the field through Election Day and beyond, so we can retake the Senate and the House in 2022 and the White House in 2024. Our country is worth fighting for, and now is the time to step up and win.” In September, Public Opinion Strategies conducted a poll showing Mo Brooks led Britt 41% to 11%; however, 39% of respondents were undecided. Brooks, backed by his endorsement from Donald Trump, garnered 18% of respondents stating they would “probably” vote for him versus 23% who said their vote for Brooks was “definite.” Britt was recently endorsed by the Alabama Farmers Federation’s political arm FarmPAC. This endorsement is widely viewed as the top grassroots endorsement available in the state of Alabama.
Paul DeMarco: Alabama legislature further erodes confidence of public in redistricting process
This past week the Alabama Legislature concluded its special session called by Governor Kay Ivey to address the once every ten-year reapportionment of Alabama’s legislative, School Board, and Congressional districts. And unfortunately, it created another black eye for the lawmakers and the way some conduct business. Over the past four years, there have been instances when some members of this body of state representatives and senators earned the reputation for ramming through legislation without the transparency the public is owed by its elected officials. Even when the rest of the state opened up during the pandemic, the statehouse had remained hard to access to the public, and our ability to watch bills being debated and considered was diminished, which makes the way maps were passed and the response of those in charge of drawing them even more frustrating. After months of lobbyists, and those paying for the lobbyist, drawing maps in secret, our maps for the next decade were approved despite the fact they were not released for the public until hours before they were voted on by the reapportionment committee. Maps then were passed without any changes requested by the public or some fellow members. Repeated requests from constituents across the state, as well as from some members of the legislature, were flippantly dismissed by reapportionment leaders based solely on the scare tactics that any changes would immediately lead to lawsuits and that there was not enough time to debate changes despite months of maps being drawn in secret and revealed at the last minute. Of course, these arguments were hollow, as numerous maps were able to be proposed and viewed instantaneously with the same transparency as those proposed from insiders, and of course, within days of passage, lawsuits have already been filed. Poll after poll indicates that American’s have never had less trust in government than they do now. The hard part of governing is allowing feedback, hearing multiple sides, and being willing to change your mind. The Alabama redistricting process sadly showed how little regard some leaders have for Alabama citizens and why time and time again, voters choose change. In districts drawn of their choosing, Alabama elected officials will be up for election next year. Call after call to leaders of the Reapportionment committee and some elected leaders were received with dismissiveness, disdain, and a charge to “reach out to your own member.” Elections are our chance to do just that. Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives.
Steve Flowers: Judge Bobby Aderholt
Alabama has a legacy of great men who have served as judges in our state. Recently, revered, retired Circuit Judge Bobby Ray Aderholt of Haleyville passed away at 85. He served the public for more than 50 years. As a judge, he presided over each case with integrity and impartiality. He was the Circuit Judge for the 25th Judicial Circuit for 30-years, 1977-2007. He was first elected Circuit Judge in 1976. He would have continued serving the people of Winston and Marion counties if it were not for an antiquated law in Alabama that judges cannot run for office after age 70. When Judge Aderholt first ran in 1976, he bucked a Democratic tidal wave in the state and was the only Republican elected in North Alabama that year. Our state had been overwhelmingly Democratic from the 1870s through 1964 because of the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. However, there was one area of the state that never bought into the Southern Secession from the Union. The folks in Northwest Alabama did not own slaves and figured they did not need to fight a war over slavery for the rich planters of the Black Belt. Therefore, when Alabama seceded from the Union, Winston County seceded from Alabama. Thus, Winston County became the Free State of Winston. During the 1884 to 1964, 80-year period, every statewide elected official in Alabama was a Democrat, and also every local and legislative officeholder ran as a Democrat with the exception of one county – Winston had Republican officeholders. In fact, legendary U.S. Federal Judge Frank Johnson Jr. was a Republican from Winston County. When a federal judgeship came open in the Middle District of Alabama in the early 1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower had a hard time finding a Republican to appoint. He chose young Frank Johnson Jr. The Republican party broke the ice in 1964. Alabama voted straight Republican for Barry Goldwater, and the wave carried five Republican congressmen with him. Alabama had become a red Republican state. However, we still elected Democrats to local offices like legislator and circuit judge. 1976 was a blip with Jimmy Carter carrying Alabama and the Deep South due to the post-Watergate fallout. Judge Bobby Aderholt was always a Republican, so he ran as a Republican that year and won. He was on an island with no other Republican winning in North Alabama. He became a pioneer in the Alabama Republican Party and one of the most respected judges in the state. He was known as fair, fiercely independent, and not beholden to anyone. He had a brilliant legal mind, but most importantly, he always had compassion for all individuals and treated everyone in his courtroom with dignity and respect. In conjunction with his judicial duties, he performed countless weddings and funerals in his beloved neck of the woods. Judge Aderholt was born in December of 1935 and grew up in Winston County. He went to undergraduate school at Birmingham Southern and went to Law School at the University of Alabama. He matriculated back home to Haleyville, where he had graduated high school in 1954. He spent his life in Haleyville. He was a dedicated member of the First Baptist Church of Haleyville. However, he pastored Fairview Congregational Church in Hackleburg for 47 years. Judge Bobby Aderholt was a dedicated family man. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Frances Brown Aderholt, who was his childhood sweetheart. Judge Aderholt is the father of our senior Congressman, Robert Aderholt. Robert is the only child of Judge and Mrs. Mary Frances Aderholt. They raised a good one. Robert was elected to Congress in 1996 at the ripe old age of 31. He is in his 25th year of representing the 4th Congressional District of Alabama and is the Dean of our congressional delegation. Robert and his wife, Caroline McDonald Aderholt, have two children, Mary Elliott and Robert Hayes. Judge Bobby Aderholt was a good man. We will all miss him. I will miss him as a reader of my column. He read it every week, religiously in the Marion County Journal Record and the Northwest Alabamian. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at:http://www.steveflowers.us.
Navy SEALs sue Biden administration over COVID mandate
A group of Navy SEALs filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its vaccine mandate, the latest to join the legal fight over what critics are calling unconstitutional government overreach. Dozens of SEALs, along with other Navy service members, joined in the lawsuit after the Department of Defense refused to grant them COVID-19 vaccination exemptions. With President Joe Biden’s approval, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in August that all U.S. service members must be vaccinated. “The fact that the government has not granted a single religious exemption from the vaccine mandate shows that the Biden Administration does not care about religious freedom,” said Mike Berry, general counsel for First Liberty Institute, the legal group representing the plaintiffs. “Instead, this appears to be an attempted ideological purge. After all these elite warriors have done to defend our freedoms, the Navy is now threatening their careers, families, and finances.” “It’s appalling and it has to stop before any more harm is done to our national security,” he added. According to First Liberty Institute, the service members who requested religious exemptions to the vaccine were told they may face “court-martial or involuntary separation.” “Each of their religious exemption denials appear to be identical, suggesting the Navy is not taking their requests seriously,” the group said. “The Navy also warned some of the plaintiffs that if they sought a religious exemption, the Navy would confiscate their Special Warfare devices – such as the famous SEAL ‘Trident’ – that they proudly wear on their uniforms. The Vaccine Mandate substantially burdens the SEALs’ free exercise of religion, and the Department of Defense has failed to prove it has a compelling government interest, or that there are no less restrictive ways to further its effort to mitigate the Covid-19 virus.” The latest lawsuit comes after a federal court temporarily halted Biden’s mandate that private sector companies with more than 99 employees ensure that their workers are vaccinated or receive weekly testing. More than 20 states have joined a series of lawsuits challenging the private sector vaccine mandate. A separate vaccination mandate for federal employees is also facing pushback. Many SEALs have reportedly left in anticipation that they would be forced out. “We generally have about 2,500 Navy SEALs,” Robert O’Neill, a former Navy SEAL who claims to have killed Osama Bin Laden in Operation Neptune Spear, said after the mandate was announced. “It takes time to get to certain levels. Hundreds are leaving because of nonsense.” By Casey Harper | The Center Square
Cheers! Booze delivery, wine shipments begin in Alabama
Alabamians can now get limited quantities of beer, wine, and spirits delivered to their homes after the first companies have gotten licensed. Alabama lawmakers this year approved separate bills to allow alcohol deliveries from retailers to a person’s home and to allow wineries to ship directly to consumers in the state. Several companies have gotten licensed to deliver alcoholic beverages or to ship wine, according to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The ABC Licensing Division has several other pending applications for both alcohol delivery and wine shipment, spokesman Daniel Dye wrote in an email. As of Monday, four companies have so far gotten licensed to deliver alcoholic beverages. Those companies are Shipt, Dippi, Pick Up My Things, and Deerfoot Spirits. Five companies have gotten licensed to ship wine directly to consumers in Alabama. Those companies are Penrose Hill Winery, James Cole Winery, Winecub, Truth Teller, and Robert Young. Alcohol delivery may not yet be available everywhere as companies ramp up operations. Shipt announced last week that it is doing same-day delivery of beer and wine from Target. The company said it is working to expand delivery from additional retailers. “We’re thrilled to bring alcohol delivery to Shipt’s home state just in time for the holiday season,” Rina Hurst, chief business officer for Shipt, said in a press release. Lawmakers approved the wine shipment bill after years of debate. One year, legislators set up a study commission to research the issues of wine delivery after the measure could not win passage.
Amazon adding 3 sites in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery
About 900 new jobs will be created as Amazon opens three new facilities near the Alabama cities of Montgomery, Huntsville, and Birmingham, the company said Tuesday. A 650,000-square-foot (60,387-square-meter) warehouse opening in Montgomery next year will provide more than 500 jobs as it receives products from vendors and sends them to fulfillment centers for shipment to customers, the Seattle-based company said in a statement. A center for fulfilling orders for large items like home appliances will home in Limestone County near Huntsville in 2022, employing more than 250 people, and about 150 will be employed at a delivery station opening in greater Birmingham in November, Amazon said. Amazon said it has spent more than $1 billion on infrastructure and employee compensation in Alabama while creating more than 9,000 direct jobs. Workers at the company’s warehouse in the Birmingham suburb of Bessemer defeated a union drive earlier this year. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
